Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 (5-megapixel)

[TomSawyer]

Is this camera considered a SLR?

Thanks in advance.

[drw766]

No

[TunafishJoe]

Nope

[msantos]

TunafishJoe wrote:

Nope

Why not???

[slipe]

msantos wrote:

Why not???

It is a technicality with the reflex part. You aren't seeing the image from the lens via mirrors to the viewfinder. It has gone through the CCD array and you are seeing an electronic representation. One day when they improve the electronics it will be a lot better that way than seeing an optical view and not having any idea how it will affect the CCD. Minolta put a halfway decent EVF on the A2 but have backed off to a cheaper one on the A200.

Hopefully they will eventually get the EVFs to the quality of the SLR viewfinder. You get a lot more information from an EVF. If it looks good in the EVF it will likely be a good picture. And you get live histograms and setting information. They are looked down on by the SLR crowd because of the poor quality, but if they can ever get equivalent quality EVFs will replace straight optical finders in all digital cameras.

[PhilR.]

I think slipe's comments are right on the money. I would add that in general conversation, the term "slr"is also used to denotethe type of camera where one can change lenses. The FZ20 does not do this.

PhilR.

[Picaw00t]

That's a great post, Slipe, interesting you bring that up. I don't mean to hijack the thread, but for a couple years now the screens made from OLED have been trumpeted, though never materialized for large-scale operations. They are used in some car stereo heads and mobile phones/PDA's with success though. For those who don't know, what's so special about OLED is that the organic material glows in itself instead of relying on a backlight that LCD's require. This means more consistent image quality, infinite viewing angles, instant pixel response, and no worry of backlight consumption. They are also cheaper to produce than LCD panels. The downside is that supposedly they are having a hard time getting large screens to have a useful life beyond a few thousand hours last I knew. Back to EVF's though, your post has me pondering why OLED isn't utilized for EVF's, seems like a perfect application for OLED in its current form. It may be that it's more difficult to get the same kind of resolution as we can with LCD's now that LCD technology is mature. I'm thinking with half a megapixel to a meg in an OLED would make for a killer EVF :G

[slipe]

your post has me pondering why OLED isn't utilized for EVF's, seems like a perfect application for OLED in its current form. It may be that it's more difficult to get the same kind of resolution as we can with LCD's now that LCD technology is mature. I'm thinking with half a megapixel to a meg in an OLED would make for a killer EVF

The highest density I could find was a 3.5 inch OLED with 320 X 240 pixels. That would be under 10,000 pixels/sq in. I've never pulled a camera apart and looked at the EVF element, but I'm guessing it isn't much over a square inch. Low quality EVFs like the FZ20 fit about 120,000 pixels into that array and high quality EVFs like the 8800 are in the 240,000 range. Minolta was claiming over 900,000 pixels for the EVF in the A2. It is possible that OLED hasn't matured enough to reach the densities required for EVF.

OLEDs evidently use more power that standard back-lit LEDs in their current state of development. How much more and whether that would be significant in a one square inch display I don't know.

I would add that in general conversation, the term "slr" is also used to denote the type of camera where one can change lenses. The FZ20 does not do this.

I agree that most people in general conversation associate SLR with interchangeable lenses. I bought the original Oly IS1 model probably 25 years ago and used it for years when I didn't want to carry a bag full of lenses. You will notice they advertise the latest version as "SLR" and that the zoom lens is permanent. It really is a true SLR with a mirror and focal plane shutter even though the lens is permanent. Several true DSLRs were released without interchangeable lenses as well. http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_se...mp;product=843

I think the "reflex" refers to reflecting the image with a mirror to change its path for display. They also had twin lens reflex cameras in medium format that reflected the image from horizontal to vertical so you could view it from the top of the camera. The mirror didn't move out of the way because there was a second lens for the film exposure. Since they were also called "reflex" I have always assumed it refers to altering the viewfinder path with a mirror or prism.

[steve]

Olympus pioneered the term "ZLR" for those IS series of 35mm cameras with the fixed zoom lens. ZLR = Zoom lens reflex.

Today it is generally accepted that if a camera is called an SLR that it has a mirror and pentaprism and interchangeable lenses. Most marketing folks todayuse the term "SLR-like" for the cameras that use an EVF.